Alex Pereira ‘never saw’ anything like Josh Hokit’s trash talk, praises Ilia Topuria for UFC White House press conference

Alex Pereira said he has never encountered trash talk quite like what Josh Hokit unleashed at a UFC White House press conference, though he credited lightweight champion Ilia Topuria for stepping in to defend him during the heated exchange.

Pereira is scheduled to face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14 at the South Lawn. During a pre-event press conference ahead of UFC 328's ceremonial weigh-ins, Hokit—who is fighting Derrick Lewis on the same card—began hurling insults at Pereira. The situation escalated until Topuria, the event's headliner, stood up for Pereira and intervened. Security eventually separated the fighters and removed Hokit from the proceedings.

When asked about the incident, Pereira expressed surprise at Topuria's actions rather than Hokit's aggression. "Much more surprised with Topuria to stand up, defend me, staying by my side, because I think he felt bad that I don't speak English," Pereira told MMA Fighting through a translator, noting that language barriers made the rapid-fire verbal assault difficult to fully process. "I'm definitely impressed by him, by Ilia Topuria."

Pereira, competing at heavyweight for the first time, said he remained composed throughout the ordeal and observed most of it after the fact. "I was just chill over there," he explained. "Everything happened too fast. I just saw later." The winner of Pereira's bout with Gane is expected to face champion Tom Aspinall in a unification fight, pending Aspinall's recovery from eye damage sustained against Gane at UFC 321 in October.

Hokit has made an impressive UFC debut, entering the White House card undefeated at 3-0 with three performance bonuses, including a recent victory over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 in April.